Ward announced his commitment to Syracuse during a Campus Insiders webcast Wednesday at Harpo Studios. He promptly signed his national letter of intent and faxed it to Syracuse, then eagerly called the coaching staff to celebrate.

Ward also considered Vanderbilt and South Florida. Head coach Scott Shafer is entering his second year with Syracuse after Doug Marrone left for the Buffalo Bills.

Ward did not play organized football until his junior season, but his 6-foot-8, 300-pound frame attracted top programs coast to coast. Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, Oklahoma and UCLA offered him scholarships.

"I think with CPS, there's just a lot of raw potential, and a lot of people don't want to take that risk when you have a lot of guarantees down south," Ward said. "With my size and my length, it gave them more of a guarantee and helped me out in a way."

Ward plans to study communications and sport management with the goal of becoming a sports broadcaster after his football career wraps up. He said Syracuse's well-reputed communications school made the Orange the best choice for him.

Chicagoland recruits Aaron Roberts (De La Salle), Colton Moskal (Lake Zurich), Lamar Dawson (St. Rita) and Chris Slayton (Crete-Monee) are expected to join Ward at Syracuse. Ward's mom, Darlene White, said she will move to the East Coast to be with her son during his next chapter.

"He's the only child," White said. "I want to be there to support him, go to the games and continue to be a part of his life."

Ward may redshirt his first year because highly regarded left tackle Sean Hickey decided to stay for a fifth year with the Orange. Ward is expected to compete for that job once it becomes vacant next season.

Syracuse running backs coach DeAndre Smith recruited Ward, but his time scouting Simeon dates back to his tenures at Illinois and Northern Illinois. He brought Simeon graduate Kendall Moore to Syracuse last year.

"When you have depth at certain positions, you can lean more toward a guy you can develop," Smith said. "Denzel is a kid that has the chance to be a really good player. You work them and you develop them."

A burst of thunderstorm activity across the Chicago area on Sunday afternoon resulted in a death and multiple injuries at an event in west suburban Wood Dale, the collapse of a dome in northwest suburban Rosemont and the temporary evacuation of the music festival Lollapalooza in Grant Park downtown.

The father of a 20-year-old Carol Stream, Ill., woman who drowned at Indiana's Porter Beach on Friday night identified her body Sunday afternoon after a rescue team pulled her from Lake Michigan, authorities said.

Clayton Richard pitched six innings of one-run ball and hit an RBI double Sunday as the Cubs held on for a 4-3 victory over the Brewers. Closer Hector Rondon allowed three hits in the ninth before retiring Logan Schafer on a line drive to center field with the tying run at second to end the game....